Carl Lewis On Working With Noah Lyles And How Sha’Carri Richardson’s Comeback Is ‘What We All Would Hope To Do’

Former Olympian Carl Lewis knows a thing or two about winning.

Recognized as a GOAT, Lewis started his Olympic journey 40 years ago at the Los Angeles Games, where he won three gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter hurdles, the long jump as well as the 4x100m relay, according to Olympics.com .

Four years later in Seoul, Lewis defended his 100m long jump title and won silver in the 200m. In 1992, he went on to win his third gold medal in the long jump and competed on the relay team that set a world record. His last participation in the Olympic Games was in 1996 in Atlanta, where he won his fourth gold medal in the long jump.

Although the nine-time Olympic gold medalist is no longer running on the track and field for Team USA, he’s still on the ground supporting athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He recently teamed up with Tide for the brand’s new ad campaign called Stains Happen to the Best of Us — which also features Noah Lyles , aka the fastest man in the world. While in Europe, Lewis spoke to Blavity about his Tide partnership, self-care and more.

Tide’s Stains Happen to the Best of Us campaign focuses on how life can get easily messy not just on the field, but off the field regardless of whether you’re an Olympic athlete or not.

“First of all, working with Noah Lyles has been amazing so that was a lot of fun. Getting to know him more really enhanced that experience on set,” he told Blavity. “Secondly, I can relate directly to it, being in sports for all those years and then being a long jumper, which is when we needed Tide the most. So this ties right into exactly who I am, what I used to do and the association with the Olympic Games makes it even more special for me.”

Lewis revealed that since the Olympics changed the trajectory of his life, it holds a special place in his heart; he thinks it is the best competition in the world.

“What I love the most about the Olympics is that it is the one event probably left in the world where everyone stops and everyone has their own Olympic story,” Lewis said. “Whether you’re in the games competing, you’re in the stadium, you’re in the city, you’re sitting at home with your family, everyone has their Olympic story because the whole world stops.”

Since there are more conversations than ever surrounding mental health, Lewis is pleased to see how well athletes like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have taken a step back to prioritize their self-care.

“One thing that I think we can do to help these young people and young athletes when it comes to their mental health issues is also to work with them in their schedules,” he said. “We put a lot of things on their plate. We’ll say, ‘You need to do this, you need to go do that, you need to go here, you need to go there.'”

Lewis revealed that he’s had to pause things during his career to refuel, which he says is the key to achieving longevity in competitive sports.

“In the middle of my career, I was just kind of burned out a little so I moved to DC and bought a home up there and stayed there for a year,” he said. “I started working on a book and didn’t train for five months, so it took me a whole year to get back, but I needed to recharge.”

Three years ago, Sha’Carri Richardson faced a lot of criticism following her suspension from the Tokyo Games after testing positive for marijuana. Her comeback story is one that many have been excited to witness, including Lewis.

“I love the fact that she’s being able to mature into herself and become the woman she wants to be,” he said. “She’s a tremendous athlete, a wonderful young woman. Like she says, ‘I’m not back. I’m better.’ And that’s what we all would hope to do.”

Making it to the Olympics takes a lot of hard work and even more sacrifice, but Lewis insists that it’s all worth it in the end.

“If you prepare, train hard and understand that you’re getting better every day, the sacrifices you have to make [end up being worth it],” he advised. “One line I tell a lot of young people is, ‘I used to miss a lot of the parties, but now I can go to those parties.’ There’s going to be a give and take of what you do in your life… understand that it’s okay.”

He added, “You’re missing the parties at home, but you’re in the party in Paris. There are so many things you think you’re missing, but in reality, you’re enhancing your life in the long run. Stay focused on what you can control, prepare yourself in practice and don’t put too much pressure on yourself because you’re gonna win some and you’re gonna lose some.”